The morning was chilly … or it may have been particularly warm. There was hardly a cloud in the sky … or it could have been pouring rain. The kids left for school on this last morning before the holiday break. The spouse left for work and the baby played with the new puppy, giggling and squealing at their impromptu game of tag. Nothing about that morning stands out.

The television was droning on about the same things it does every morning. We’re heading for a cliff! Taxes! Some person that is famous for no apparent reason and has no impact on our lives did something that in truth we shouldn’t care about but for some reason we’re fascinated. Some crazy person took a gun and … Nothing really even registered on the radar at this point.

At this point we are numb. Like soldiers on the front, we have become jaded by the amount of violence we see every day; high schools, universities, a movie theater, an Amish community school. The talking heads report it and we shake our collective heads, “What is this world coming to?” And then, the day continues and the really important things take over.